Special Needs Adoptions

The Person I Was Meant To Be
Do you think parenting a child with a disability has changed you? Small changes or big changes?
I believe I would be less patient. I would not be as assertive. (…)

Am I Selfish?
Again, in celebration of the 2008 National Adoption Awareness Month, the following is an article I wrote for Richmond Magazine. (…)

Tell Me A Story
November is National Adoption Month, and I would love to hear from your children!
Do you have a child who was adopted and who would like to share their story? (…)

You Make Me Feel…
Aretha Franklin sang “You make me feel like a natural woman…”. Robert Redford revealed his baseball talents in the movie The Natural in 1984. (…)

Eeeyore Has Left The Building
I pulled the following post out of my archives for one particular reason – to show that there is hope for even the most damaged of children. (…)

One Mean Mother
In my lifetime I have been referred to as one mean mother by many people…including my own mom…because they did not understand. (…)

A Family Built By Birth and Adoption
The Internet makes the world seem small sometimes. (…)

Really Sherific!
It's really spooky. Sometimes when reading Sheri's blog posts, I feel like she is inside my head and reading my thoughts. (…)

Please Don't Leave
I’ve read posts by several bloggers recently on the subject of lost friends – people who leave your life once you have a child with disabilities. (…)

"Eat Healthy Foods"
One of my main goals as a parent of children with disabilities is to help my children become effective self-advocates. (…)

Hey, Beautiful
“She’s not a pretty baby”, the social worker told me for the third time. “Are you sure you want to meet her?” I hid my impatience with a calm smile and nodded yes. (…)

The Crash Test Dummy Family
All week the plan was to tell you a humorous story today about the boys' not-so-special language. Humor is scarce right now.
As I write this the pain and tears are fresh from having been verbally and physically attacked by my thirteen year old son. Followed by his complete emotional collapse in my arms while he sobbed and heaved words of remorse…
"Mom, I am so sorry. Mom, I love you so much. I am so stupid. I am so bad. Mom, I am so sorry. Please still love me."
I hold him and wish desperately to make it all go away. I kiss his head. I tell him "I love you. Nothing will ever make me stop loving you. You are precious to me. (…)

A Letter To Our Occupational Therapist
Dear OT,
My son absolutely can and does reach across midline, on a regular basis, spontaneously during regular play.
Oh. You need proof, eh? (…)

Don't Mess With This Texas Mom - An Interview With Candice O'Dell
Candice O’Dell is the type of mother I aspire to be. She has two adopted daughters, both with their own unique needs, and she has dedicated her life to learning all she can to support those needs. (…)

Ashley Time
Having a child with significant medical issues, I find myself measuring time in non-traditional ways. When someone asks “When did you move into your house?”, I say, “Let’s see, it was after Ashley’s second brain surgery but before she had her gallbladder and appendix out.” I could have just as easily said that it was April 1998, but that is not the way my internal time clock worked after adopting Ashley. (…)

Four Sons, Lots of Questions
Four sons not expected to live.
“We do not understand how he survived” we were told…four times. (…)

Dazlious - Interview with Marla Baltes
One of the loveliest and most informative blogs I regularly visit is called Marla Baltes On All That Is Dazlious. (…)